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{
    "id": 1452776,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1452776/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 166,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "is debate that you cannot interact with as a Member of Parliament or as a member of county assemblies on the basis of what the Senate has done. There is the issue of acquisition of interest in partnerships and private companies. On restricted gainful employment, for instance, people who are here and are professional lawyers, professional accountants, etcetera, there is a register of conflict of interest where the register will give prohibitions on State officers after leaving office, having served as a State officer, what other gainful employment can you get into. We have made amendments relating to that. There is prohibition against representing people before reporting entities and declaration of income, assets and liabilities by public officers. Additionally, the Senate has deleted the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission as the administrator of the Bill and deleted all provisions on conflict of interest in the Public Officer Ethics Act, the Leadership and Integrity Act, and the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act. The Senate amendments are the complete opposite of what the National Assembly considered and passed in the Bill. Therefore, I move that the amendments be rejected for those reasons to allow us to proceed to mediation. I have just given the background of what we had done in this Bill and what the Senate has proposed to do in the amendments that I am calling on the House to reject. The amendments that the Senate has passed, besides negating everything that we did to make this Bill become workable… What the Senate has done – without casting aspersions on the other House – must have been informed by a huge conflict of interest in the other House. You appreciate that this is a House that has been unable to impeach even a single governor. I saw them the other day pontificating on issues to do with integrity and corruption in this country. We have restrained ourselves over the last two years from discussing the other House or even the conduct of Members of that House even under extreme provocation. We must stand with the people of Kenya. This Bill is critical in the fight against corruption. The dilution that the other House of Parliament – The Senate – has visited on this Bill makes it completely unworkable. It creates a very fertile ground for corruption and conflict of interest to continue taking root in our Republic. Therefore, we must be the bigger brother between the two Houses. We must be the House that stands with the people of Kenya, who have spoken loudly and told us that matters touching on conflicts of interest, and matters touching on theft of public resources, must come to an end. We must be the House that will stand with the people of Kenya and tell our brothers in the Senate that it will not be business as usual for governors in terms of stealing public resources and getting away scot-free with what they have stolen from the people of Kenya, knowing that they can influence what will happen in the other House and in their respective county assemblies. We must be the House that should stand with the people of Kenya in this regard. This House has the singular responsibility of being the peoples’ representatives, while the other House represents counties. Being the peoples’ representatives, we must be the ones who must today stand with the people of Kenya. Listening to what Kenyans are saying out there, this is one of the Bills that the young Kenyans, and other Kenyans of goodwill, who want a change in the manner that things are done in this country, have asked the Houses of Parliament to expedite. Therefore, we have a national duty to reject these amendments, get into mediation and show our brothers and sisters in the other House that it is only right to do what is good for the greater good of our people, and not what is good for leaders and public officers. I have heard in today’s Communication from the President, who has also alluded to this Bill as important not just for us as public and State officers to protect ourselves from unfair and The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}